Frame Build Part Four

With the main chassis complete, Tigcraft’s next task is to put together the swing arm and get a rear wheel in the bike

This is the swing arm tacked together so that the fit in the chassis can be checked. Additional vertical struts have yet to be added. We cannot show you the end plates because they are a new design and have yet to be completed to our satisfaction. They will look stunning so it’s worth the extra time that the development requires. Promach are working on the final components just now.

With such a long engine, we are doing all we can to keep the wheelbase as short as possible.To get the swing arm tucked in as tight as possible, Dave Pearce relieved the rear of the crankcase a touch to gain a few vital millimetres. On the right you can see the general arrangement of the swing arm in the mounting plates. The arm will pivot on needle roller bearings.

And here it is with a rear wheel in place. We are using a spare pair of Suzuki GSXR 750 wheels from Jim Lindsay’s bike at the moment. We want to keep the Dymag carbon fibre wheels pristine until we are ready for the final fitting. The view from the rear shows just how much effort has been made to keep the chassis as slim as possible. We can’t do any more than we have done about the length of the engine but we will still end up with a short enough wheelbase to give us the agile handling we are aiming for. It will be somewhere near the measurement of the Ducati 1198.

We are seeing rapid progress at the moment. Next task is to add the final bracing to the arm, get the rear suspension linkage sorted, fit the rear unit and start thinking about the forks.

Enigma 1050 – a very British motorcycle being built in Hampshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Surrey, Sussex, Suffolk, Shropshire and Cambridgeshire.